Constructive F1 Strategy Group and Commisson held in Paris

Following a meeting of the F1 Strategy Group and Commission in Paris today (25 April), changes to the sporting and technical regulations have been agreed

A constructive meeting of the F1 Strategy Group and F1 Commission took place today (25 April) in Paris, with all members in attendance including FIA President Jean Todt and, for the first time, Chase Carey, CEO of Formula One Group.

Below is a summary of what was discussed:

Sporting and technical changes

There have been some corrections and additions to the technical and sporting regulations for 2018, which will now be passed to the World Motor Sport Council for approval:

A number of more integrated solutions for additional frontal protection have been studied, and the decision has been taken to give priority to the transparent ‘shield’ family of systems. The FIA aims to carry out track tests of this system during this season in preparation for implementation in 2018

Changes in the regulation boxes around the engine cover have been made so that designs incorporating the ‘t-wing’ and ‘shark fin’ will be strictly limited

Measures will be taken to ensure that oil will not be used as fuel. In addition, only one specification of oil may be used for any given power unit during an event

Pirelli will be allowed to develop 2018 wet weather tyre compounds using previous specifications of cars and wheel dimensions

In the event of a red flag period during a race, the race will be resumed from a standing start

Driver names and numbers

Information was given to the teams that, from Barcelona (12-14 May 2017) onwards, the sporting regulations will be strictly enforced to ensure that visibility of drivers’ names and numbers on the cars will be clearer.

Strategy Group
Representatives from the non-member teams will now be invited to meetings of the F1 Strategy Group to have access to the discussions, demonstrating the effective commitment of both the FIA and the Commercial Rights Holder to improve transparency in the sport.

1. Looks like they ditched the "Halo" system...for now.....shield has a higher probability.
2. Standing starts....like they did in the 60's, 70's, and 80's. Don't know when they got away from that.
3. Interesting on the oil being used for fuel....I have been reading on oil additives with attention to additives....as in the Mercs are using a catalyst agent to react with the fuel hence giving the Mercs the "boost" that they need during quali and the race....

Formula One has announced 2018 will see a clampdown on sharkfin and T-wing designs, which have become an unpopular feature on this year's cars.

F1's new era started in 2017 with faster, wider cars which have already been successful at dramatically increasing cornering speed and lowering lap times. However, a drawback to the regulations was a loophole concerning the rear of the car, which has seen some teams place a T-wing on top of the fin-like structures which run down to the rear assembly.

Fans and drivers have been critical of the designs, while Red Bull boss Christian Horner called on the FIA to ban T-wings altogether after seeing Max Verstappen drive over one in Bahrain after it had fallen loose from Valtteri Bottas' Mercedes W08. On Tuesday, the FIA confirmed it has made changes to the regulation boxes around the engine covers in order to "strictly limit" the unpopular designs for next season.

In a wide-ranging meeting, several changes were agreed for 2018 -- including inviting non-Strategy Group members to observe future meetings. The decision-making body currently consists of the FIA, the commercial rights holder (previously Bernie Ecclestone, now Liberty Media) and five of the teams, something which had led to criticism from smaller teams in previous seasons.

The Strategy Group also confirmed it is taking measures to ensure oil is not being burned as fuel, following several queries this year that some teams have been doing so for a performance benefit. It also confirmed red-flagged races will be resumed with a standing restart, while tyre manufacturer Pirelli will be allowed to develop its wet-weather tyres for 2018 using previous specifications.

In good news for fans it also agreed that, from this year's Spanish Grand Prix onwards, F1's sporting regulations will be "strictly enforced" to ensure the visibility of drivers' names and numbers on the cars will be clearer in preparation for proper implementation in 2018. This follows calls for F1 to follow in the footsteps of IndyCar, where each car runs an LED display giving fans real-time updates on that driver's position during a race.